Top rubber growers to discuss cooperation on Friday

Top rubber growers to discuss cooperation on Friday
Reuters
Jakarta

The world's top three natural rubber producers -- Thailand,
Indonesia and Malaysia -- will meet on Friday to try to iron out
problems linked to last year's tripartite agreement, a senior
Indonesian official said.

The three countries agreed in December to cut output by four
percent and exports by 10 percent starting earlier this year to
boost rubber prices, which fell late last year to 30-year lows of
below 50 U.S. cents/kg.

"Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has invited Trade and
Industry Minister Rini Soewandi and Malaysian Primary Industries
Minister Lim Keng Yaik to hold talks in Bangkok on Friday," Ferry
Yahya, a senior official from the Trade and Industry ministry,
told Reuters.

Yahya said the meeting would focus on how to solve the
problems that have hampered implementation of the agreement.

Speaking on Wednesday, Soewandi said Indonesia would propose
Thailand revise its intervention policy as most of the
difficulties with the agreement were due to the Thai private
sector.

She said the Thai government had not received much cooperation
from the private sector which had previously relied heavily on
government subsidies.

Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia account for around 80 percent
of the world's natural rubber production.